Digital Commons Network^™

Geometric Quality Assessment Of A Modular House Using Bim And Photogrammetric Point Clouds, Preetam Kapsikar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As-built documentation of modular structures is an important set of records for a project, that consist of construction drawings and specifications, project design modifications, prefabrication, and component assembly. In particular, manual geometric quality assessments of a structure’s prefabricated components are generally fraught with errors, making it extremely difficult to compare the as-built construction with the specified drawings, which affects the project. Furthermore, if the prefabricated components are manufactured with errors, this can result in construction schedule delays and high additional costs due to rework. Several technologies, such as point cloud data generated using laser sensors and LiDAR, have been developed …

Healthy Aging In Place: An Integrated Smart Home Using Alexa-Compatible Technology, Tyler Kryst

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this research was to address current healthcare concerns among the aging population. Around the globe, the average life expectancy is projected to continue increasing resulting in a higher prevalence of age-related disease. With the ever-increasing capabilities of modern technology, it is necessary to apply this technology to increase the health and safety of older adults. This work had three objectives. The first objective was the establishment of an integrated smart home aimed at creating a healthy aging-in-place environment through the use of Alexa. The second objective was the development and integration of a completely custom health device …

Development Of A Novel Cognitive-Motor Dual Task Assessment Battery In Neurodegenerative Disease, Jason Longhurst

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Automaticity --- the ability to perform a task with directing attentional resources to its completion --- is commonly reduced among individuals with neurodegenerative diseases. These automaticity deficits result in impaired functional and daily activities and are sensitive to subtle, subclinical impairments. However, current measurement of automaticity by dual task paradigms is methodologically limited. In order to gain insight into the current state of the literature regarding cognitive-motor interference in symptomatic and prodromal neurodegenerative disease, the author of this dissertation conducted a scoping review (Chapter 1). To address the methodological limitations of current measurement of automaticity, a new measurement tool was …

"Till This Moment, I Never Knew Myself": Letters In Pride And Prejudice And Mansfield Park, Renee Maalouf

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Though published a year apart, Jane Austen first wrote Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Mansfield Park (1814) at different points in her literary career, the former more closely tied to her juvenilia, the latter considered one of her “mature” works. Despite the time between drafts, both novels contain the most and second most number of letters, respectively, in all her published novels, along with a similar distribution of letters throughout the narratives. Some scholars regard letters in Austen’s published novels as merely a remnant of her epistolary juvenilia, but Austen’s inclusion of letters in her “mature” work, Mansfield Park, demonstrates …

Increasing Perioperative Outpatient Nurses’ Knowledge Of Pediatric Anxiety Through Use Of A Developed Clinical Guide, Christine Oliver

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Elevated perioperative anxiety levels in the pediatric population is a main concern when providing nursing care in a specialty area. In the United States, over five million pediatric patients will have some type of surgery each year and greater than 65 percent of those pediatric patients will exhibit preoperative anxiety. The care of pediatric patients in the outpatient surgical setting has grown significantly, and pediatric care is no longer restricted to specialized facilities or hospitals. This increased number of pediatric patients in day surgery centers has created a shift in nursing care for perioperative nurses. Anxiety has been directly related …

Behavior Of Aged Reinforced Concrete Columns Under High Sustained Concentric And Eccentric Loads, Wenchen Ma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Columns are critical components resisting the collapse of a reinforced concrete (RC) frame structure subjected to high sustained loads. Research on columns under sustained high stresses is very limited. At material level, past creep tests were focused either on concrete with ages less than 90 days or under a sustained stress less than 70% of short-time strength. At structural component scale, virtually no experimental data can be found for the response of axially loaded RC columns subjected to high sustained loads exceeding 75% of column short-time strength with loading age greater than 200 days. Even if a few experiments were …

Improving Therapeutic Communication In Mental Health Nursing: A Quality Improvement Project, Patricia A. Nill

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over 46 million adults in the United States (U.S.) live with a mental illness. Locally in Nevada, the psychiatrist to patient ratio is approximately 700:1, and patients are seen primarily in the inpatient setting, if seen at all, due to the wait average of 85 hours in the hospital emergency rooms for access into mental health hospitals or specialty units of a general hospital. Moreover, costs for mental health mood disorders alone are estimated at over seven million dollars annually. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) opined the need for change in healthcare to redesign practice and clinical communication with patients …

Controlled Evaluation Of A Family-Based Optimization Intervention Implemented Through Video-Conferencing To Address Adhd And Oppositional Defiant Disorder In An Adolescent Athlete, Dereck Davy Phrathep

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Adolescent athletes with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) experience unique challenges that impact their sport performance, such as making errors due to poor concentration and adverse relationships with referees due to poor anger management. Pharmacological treatments have shown to be successful in treating ADHD comorbid with ODD. However, there are negative consequences for pharmacological treatments for adolescent athletes (e.g., banned by sports organizations). Well-established behavioral interventions for ADHD and ODD in non-athlete populations have included family-based, cognitive-behavioral approaches. However, none of these interventions have been evaluated in competitive adolescent athletes. The current case trial involved …

Colonization Of The Philippines: An Analysis Of U.S. Justificatory Rhetoric, Johansen Christopher Pico

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The term “Filipino” offers more than a call to nationality; it also recalls the genesis of colonization in the Philippines. This thesis explores the colonial interventions of the United States in the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century, homing in on the Filipino education system as the United States’ primary method of colonizing the Filipino mind. Drawing from texts by Senator Alfred Beveridge, President William McKinley, the Philippine Commission, David Barrows, and Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, I offer an ideological criticism that demonstrates a cyclical nature between both justificatory rhetoric and ideology. Working with “ideological clusters,” this …

Estimation Of Spatial Change In Cropland Area And Evaluation Of Irrigation Performance In Imperial Valley Using Remotely Sensed Data, Usha Poudel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Imperial Valley (IV) in the US is an extensively irrigated agricultural region, which includes multiple crops changing on an annual and semiannual basis. The valley is facing grave concerns about water management due to its semi-arid environment, water intensive crops, and limited water supply. A simple, inexpensive, and repeatable method to detect changes in cropping patterns may assist irrigation managers to understand crop diversification and associated consumptive use. In addition, a spatial assessment of existing water irrigation system performance and productivity is crucial to benchmark and improve current water management strategies. This thesis estimates the spatial pattern of change …

Popular Culture As A Tool For Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study, Kyle Rogers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation sought to understand how a video essayist can incorporate popular culture to engage in critical pedagogy about queer issues into their video essays. Currently, educational institutions fail queer youth socially and academically. One potential method for engaging about and with queer folx may be popular culture. This study showed that popular culture may be a particularly useful tool for engaging in critical pedagogy in public space.

This study sought to answer the research question, how can, if at all, a video essayist incorporate popular culture to engage in critical pedagogy about queer issues into their video essays? Critical …

The Effects Of Green Exercise On Perception And Connectedness To Nature, Robert W. Salatto

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is three-fold: 1. Investigate the effects of acute beta alanine ingestion during green exercise on connectedness to nature, and perception of pain. 2. Investigate the test-retest reliability of the Love and care of Nature Scale during the task of mountain biking. 3. Investigate the effects of green exercise on connectedness to nature and perception. Methods: Three individual studies were conducted: The first was a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study design which examined the effect of induced painful sensation (via acute Beta Alanine (B-ALA) ingestion) on Love and Care of Nature (LCN), heart rate (HR), rating …

Developing Strategic Partnerships To Impact Population Health: A Professional Development Module, Andra S. Scano

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Massive organizational changes occurring in our health care delivery system have provided opportunities for nurse leaders who think in terms of population health, to develop new skills needed to impact the populations they serve. Aspects of these changes include a focus on the delivery of primary and community-based care and the development of partnerships, alliances, and other linkages across settings to build integrated systems (Williams, 2020, p. 17). Turner (2020) asserts that population-focused nurse leaders are charged with creating a new future for healthier communities which often involves strategic partnership development. However, strategic partnership development is a complex task that …

A Fusion Of Remotely Sensed Data To Map The Impervious Surfaces Of Growing Cities Of Punjab, Pakistan, Binita Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Urban population is expected to exceed 70% of the world’s total by the middle of the 21st century. Thus, growth in number as well as the sizes of the cities are certain in the near future. The urbanization rates will be much higher in the developing countries than the developed. Such phenomena are accompanied by conversion of land cover from its natural use to built up environment to accommodation growing population. Built up surfaces include road networks, buildings, parking lots and pathways. They are permanently impervious and hydrologically active surfaces. Large volume and discharges of runoff characterize impervious surfaces with …

Investigation Of Bench-Scale Packed Bioreactor For Perchlorate Reduction In The Presence Of Co-Contaminants And High Salinity, Julia Ribeiro Rabello

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Perchlorate (ClO4-), commonly found as a salt, is naturally occurring in nature and is found in natural nitrate deposits (such as the Chilean nitrate). Perchlorate anion is considered an inhibitor of iodine by the thyroid gland, reducing the production of thyroid hormones. The latest action by the USEPA was to not determine a national drinking water standard for perchlorate. However, the states still have their own regulations on perchlorate concentration in drinking water. Contaminated sites with high concentrations of perchlorate (ppm levels) are associated with historic perchlorate manufacture and use, while those with low concentrations (ppb levels) are found in …

Genomic Analysis Of Paenibacillus Larvae Bacteriophages, Casey Stamereilers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

American Foulbrood is the most destructive bacterial infection of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and is caused by the Gram-positive, spore forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. Current treatment methods rely on antibiotics, but antibiotics treatments are experiencing a reduction in efficacy due to the recent rise in antibiotic resistant strains of P. larvae. This has been a major catalyst for exploration of alternative treatment methods. Phage therapy is an alternative treatment method that uses viruses that exclusively infect bacteria, known as bacteriophages (phages), to combat bacterial infections. Several experimental studies have shown that phages P. larvae phages are effective at lysing P. …

An Intervention To Improve Nurses’ Knowledge, Perceived Safety, And Confidence In Identifying And Managing Workplace Violence: A Translation Of Evidence Into Practice, Kayla Sullivan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that over two million workers are victims of workplace violence (WPV) (Papa, 2013). Registered nurses are subjected to high risk for workplace violence from patients and visitors, with 25.5% reporting at least one victimization incident (Gillespie et al., 2013). Research indicates that WPV has a significant impact on nurses' quality of working life, job satisfaction levels, turnover rates and has also been shown to negatively impact efficiency and productivity (Gacki-Smith et al., 2009). ED nurses are at substantial occupational risk for workplace violence. Emergency departments have been identified as areas within the …

An Evaluation Of Care Coordination In Reducing Depression Symptoms And Emergency Room Visits, Stacy Sumpter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: Individuals living with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) account for 26% of the population; however, they consume 84% of healthcare resources, are three times more likely to have depression than healthy individuals, and have increase emergency room (ER) visits and healthcare resource use. This population requires coordinated health care to reduce unnecessary spending and the misappropriation of healthcare resources. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the efficacy of care coordination (CC) and the support system it provides in lowering depression symptoms and ER visit frequency as a viable measure to reduce overall healthcare costs.

Methods: The healthcare providers, …

Predictors Of Violent And Non-Violent Institutional Infractions Of Death Row Prisoners, Tereza Trejbalová

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Institutional misconduct has been widely researched in the criminological literature for more than 50 years, leading to an extensive knowledge about how and why different prisoners misbehave while incarcerated. Nevertheless, one correctional population has been mostly left out of these research pursuits – death row prisoners (DRPs). Although DRPs form a small fraction of the overall number of incarcerated individuals in the US, they tend to spend more than 20 years in maximum security facilities and require a considerable amount of resources. As such, it is imperative for the safety of the facility, the staff, and the prisoners themselves to …

Opioid And Naloxone Training In A Rural School District, Allyson C. Waldron

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The opioid epidemic is a national health emergency in the United States, with over 128 people dying each day due to an opioid overdose. It is estimated that 4.3 million people over the age of 12 use opioids without a medical need, and 1.3 million youth ages 12-17 use opioids inappropriately. Drug overdose deaths have become the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, prompting the U.S. Surgeon General and the World Health Organization to advise that more Americans have access to naloxone and understand how to use this life-saving drug correctly. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, used …

Prograde Metamorphism And Upper-Crustal Cooling In The Northern Panamint Range, California: New Insights Into The Jurassic And Mid-Cretaceous Evolution Of The Southern Sevier Fold-Thrust Belt, Elijah A. Turner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Jurassic-Cretaceous southern Sevier fold-thrust belt, which experiences changes in orientation and structural style as it approaches intersection with the Mesozoic continental arc, has been pervasively overprinted by Neogene-Quaternary faulting, rendering its evolution enigmatic. Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) thermometry data from 14 samples and zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) thermochronology data from 23 samples collected in the northern Panamint Range illuminate the history of metamorphism and upper-crustal cooling associated with this belt of shortening structures. Best estimate peak temperatures derived from RSCM thermometry increase from 166 ± 19°C at 2.5 km structural depth (measured from the top of the exposed …

Blue Lives Matter: Identity And The Internet, Jennifer M. Stevens

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Social movements scholars have long studied the role of identity, both individual and collective, in regard to social movement formation, mobilization, and persistence (Snow et al. 1986, Kellner 1995, Darnovsly, Epstein, and Flacks 1995, Jasper 1997, Cerulo 1997, Bernstein 1997; 2002, and Futrell, Simi, and Gottschalk 2006). Advances in technology have made the Internet, and particularly social media, a powerful piece in the activist’s toolkit. While scholars have researched what the Internet means for different social movement organizations, there are many questions to address. I examine the social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) of the pro-policing social movement organization Blue …

Acoustic And Semantic Processing Of Speech And Non-Speech Sounds In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Breanne D. Yerkes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The processing of semantically meaningful non-speech and speech sounds requires the use of acoustic and higher-order information, such as categorical knowledge and semantic context. Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been theorized to show enhanced processing of acoustic features and impaired processing of contextual information. The current study investigated how children with and without ASD use acoustic and semantic information during an auditory change detection task and semantic context during a speech-in-noise task. Furthermore, relationships among IQ, the presence of ASD symptoms and the use of acoustic and semantic information across the two tasks were examined among typically …

The Bridge From Etude To Repertoire: Hermann Six Concert Studies, Op. 18, Yuxin Zhao

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Scales and etudes are considered essential steps in developing an advanced technique on any instrument. The viola, as a member of the string family, was not nearly as popular or recognized as the violin or cello before the twentieth century. It is the same situation with the viola’s repertory and etudes: there are many pieces transposed from the cello or clarinet, for example, and many etudes are borrowed from the violin. However, even though the viola has a similar shape and playing posture to the violin, they are still different instruments with a significantly different technique. Violists should therefore avoid …

Global Trends In Norovirus Genotype Distribution Among Children With Acute Gastroenteritis., Jennifer L. Cannon, Joseph Bonifacio, Filemon Bucardo, Javier Buesa, Leesa Bruggink, Martin Chi-Wai Chan, Tulio M. Fumian, Sidhartha Giri, Mark D. Gonzalez, Joanne Hewitt, Jih-Hui Lin, Janet Mans, Christian Muñoz, Chao-Yang Pan, Xiao-Li Pang, Corinna Pietsch, Mustafiz Rahman, Naomi Sakon, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Hannah Browne, Leslie Barclay, Jan Vinjé

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Noroviruses are a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) among adults and children worldwide. NoroSurv is a global network for norovirus strain surveillance among children(genotype and polymerase type) and uploaded 1,325 dual-typed sequences to the NoroSurv web portal during 2016-2020. More than 50% of submitted sequences were GII.4 Sydney[P16] or GII.4 Sydney[P31] strains. Other common strains included GII.2[P16], GII.3[P12], GII.6[P7], and GI.3[P3] viruses. In total, 22 genotypes and 36 dual types, including GII.3 and GII.20 viruses with rarely reported polymerase types, were detected, reflecting high strain diversity. Surveillance data captured in NoroSurv enables the monitoring of trends in norovirus strains …

Computational Sentiment Analysis Of An Online Left Ventricular Assist Device Support Forum: Positivity Predominates, Melissa Austin, Abhiraj Saxena, Thomas O'Malley, Elizabeth Maynes, Henry Moncure, Nathan Ott, H. Todd Massey, Francesco Moscato, Antonio Loforte, John M Stulak, Vakhtang Tchantchaleishvili

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Background: The impact of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) complications on the individual patient, overall sentiment, and its effect on referral patterns, is not fully understood. We sought to better understand patient attitudes towards LVAD therapy using a computational sentiment analysis approach.

Methods: Posts, comments, and titles were parsed from MyLVAD.com's HTML as a text file using custom Python scripts (version 3.6). Individual word frequency was computed with word classification as 'positive', 'negative', or 'neutral'. Data transformation and cleaning, sentiment determination, and analysis was performed with a binary dictionary package using R software (version 3.6).

Results: Sixty-six thousand eight hundred …

Identification And Characterization Of Floating Marsh Communities In The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, Jessica Waller

All Theses

Floating marshes are unique buoyant wetland systems that have the potential to move vertically with fluctuating water levels. Their distinct hydrology has the potential to allow them to be more resilient in the face of global sea level rise and potentially more vulnerable to salinity intrusion. Buoyant marshes have mainly been described in fresh inland and microtidal environments worldwide and there is a gap in research in mesotidal environments along the Atlantic coast. My objectives were to 1) identify and characterize potential floating marshes in the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) on the Georgia and South Carolina coast to 2) …

Political Fair Use, Cathay Y. N. Smith

Faculty Law Review Articles

During election season, politicians and political campaigns often use pop culture or iconic works, such as viral memes or popular songs, to help convey their political messages—often without authorization from the copyright owners of these works. As politics and politicians become ever more divisive, these unauthorized political uses of copyrighted works can be particularly objectionable to copyright owners. In addition to offending their political or moral inclinations, artists and copyright owners frequently claim that these political uses infringe their copyrights. Politicians and campaigns argue that their right to use copyrighted works for political purposes is protected by the First Amendment …

The “New Normal”: A Virtual Insight From Industry Professionals On Pivoting Within The Digital Ecosystem During A Global Pandemic., Delina Corcione

Theses

This project is over industry professionals within a relative field of Digital Content Strategy, and their professional experiences as it relates to the global pandemic that hit the United States in 2020. This virus (COVID-19) has boosted us into a predominantly digital world, with little analysis on how society is to handle or adapt. The final deliverable is short documentary offering insight on industry professionals within the field of study. The “New Normal” takes a unique approach on analyzing the state of the field as it relates to the pandemic, focusing on the personal experiences these industry professionals went through …

Electronic Form Over Substance: Esignature Laws Need Upgrades, Lothar Determann

UC Law Journal

Most professionals favor substance over form. Yet, with respect to form itself, more and more favor electronic form over substantive media and signatures. Companies, consumers, and governments increasingly use electronic communications, documents, and signatures instead of ink and paper. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated an existing shift to digitization. Yet, many remain unsure about the legality or effectiveness of different forms of electronic signatures and find laws on the subject confusing.

Transactions, documents, and signatures are separate concepts. Transactions and other legally relevant actions, decisions, and declarations can be recorded in documents and effectuated with signatures. Documents and signatures …